Three Films Including 'A Diary of a Drunkard' to Air for the First Time on TV in April! 'Lost Films: Miraculously Surviving Films Revived' on CS Eisei Gekijo

The CS channel 'Eisei Gekijo' will feature a special program titled 'Lost Films: Miraculously Surviving Films Revived,' and will air the first-ever television broadcast of three films in April, parts of which were lost due to damage to the original film negatives.

These are phantom films that once graced the screen but were thought to be 'lost forever' due to war damage, film degradation, and other reasons. Fragments were miraculously discovered and have been revived. We will bring you 'Shuchu Nikki' (A Diary of a Drunkard), the second oldest surviving Shochiku film; 'Sentaro Akagi no Uta' (Sentaro's Akagi Song), which captures the essence of travelogue stories with the hit theme song 'Akagi no Komoriuta' by singer Taro Shoji; and the digitally restored version of 'Seiki wa Warau' (The Century Laughs), a supreme entertainment drama by the master Masahiro Makino, which was discovered in Russia. Please enjoy these three precious films!

'A Diary of a Drunkard' ©1921 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

A Diary of a Drunkard (Shuchu Nikki)

[Broadcast Date] April 1st (Wed) from 8:30 AM and more. First TV broadcast!

1921

[Director] Zamu Kako

[Original Story] Doppo Kunikida

[Screenplay] Daisuke Ito

[Cast] Yukichi Iwata, Utako Suzuki, Yachiyo Shizuka, Shoichi Nodera, Goro Okamoto, Chiyoko Mimura

The second oldest surviving Shochiku film. A film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Doppo Kunikida.

Okawa (Iwata), a simple elementary school principal, is at a loss after the school's donation money is stolen. At that time, he finds a bag full of money and hides it at home, intending to use it for the school. His wife, who accidentally discovers it, takes the blame and commits suicide with their beloved child. Despairing, Okawa quits his job and moves to the isolated Oshima island. However, his life there becomes a daily cycle of drinking...

*Out of the officially recorded runtime of approximately 66 minutes, about 30 minutes survive.

'The Century Laughs Digital Restoration' ©1941 Nikkatsu Corporation

The Century Laughs (Seiki wa Warau) Digital Restoration

[Broadcast Date] April 3rd (Fri) from 5:45 PM and more. First TV broadcast!

1941

[Director] Masahiro Makino

[Screenplay] Hideo Oguni

[Cast] Kyoji Sugi, Yukiko Todoroki, Hisao Yoshitani, Kansho Yoshii, Tensho Shokyokusai, Torazo Hirosawa, Mantaro Ushio, and others

A human drama directed by Masahiro Makino, co-starring Kyoji Sugi, Yukiko Todoroki, Torazo Hirosawa (rokyoku chanting), and Tensho Shokyokusai (magic).

The Tsurukame-za theater in a coastal town overlooking the Sea of Japan. While Kansai rokyoku chanter Uemon Matsunakaken (Konparu) performs to an empty house, the town's public bath erupts in applause. The performers are the duo of Tazo Hirota (Hirosawa) and his accompanist Bonsaku Sugino (Sugi). Their main job is running a Chinese noodle shop. When Hirota happens to make a delivery to the Tsurukame-za, the theater owner (Suzuki) tells him the poor attendance is because of his Naniwabushi performance, leaving him terribly embarrassed. Unaware of this, Sugino is ecstatic when the owner's daughter Ofumi invites him to see a waterfall in the mountains the next day. The next day, Sugino eagerly goes to the mountain, but is devastated when Ofumi unexpectedly confesses her feelings for Tazo...

*Out of the original runtime of around 103 minutes, approximately 94 minutes survive.

'Sentaro's Akagi Song' ©1934 Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Sentaro's Akagi Song (Asataro Akagi no Uta)

[Broadcast Date] April 8th (Wed) from 8:30 AM and more. First TV broadcast!

1934

[Director] Kosaku Akiyama

[Screenplay] Kosaku Akiyama

[Original Story] Haruhiko Komatsu

[Cast] Kokichi Takada, Eigoro Onoe, Toshiko Iizuka, Tetsu Tsuboi, Teruko Kojima, Yasuro Shiga, Saburo Sawai, and others

The theme song 'Akagi no Komoriuta' sung by Taro Shoji was a big hit!

Chuji (Onoe), adored by the villagers as the savior of Kunisada Village, had to escape the crime of stealing 5,000 ryo from the treasure house of Ota Daikoin temple to help the villagers suffering from a past famine, and barricaded himself in the Akagi mountains with his followers. Itawari no Sentaro (Takada) was with Chuji in Akagi, but would slip past the guards to come to the village for food and other errands. Sentaro and Chuji's mistress, Oteru (Iizuka), were once lovers, and Sentaro could not give up on her. Following the advice of Nikko Enzo, Chuji decides to leave Akagi and takes Sentaro with him to the lower village to say a final farewell to Oteru, but...

*Out of the original runtime of around 100 minutes, approximately 53 minutes survive. The song 'Akagi no Komoriuta' is missing.

★Click here for details on 'Lost Films: Miraculously Surviving Films Revived'

https://www.eigeki.com/news/859

★Click here for the trailer for 'Lost Films: Miraculously Surviving Films Revived'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu8fOSrO9q0

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